Less than four months after undergoing a heart transplant, the former vice president looked "hale and hearty in an open-collared pink shirt," according to a reporter who was allowed to cover the event on behalf of other media organizations,

When he introduced Romney, Cheney referred to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 that occurred during the Bush administration as the type of event a president can never be prepared for but tests their character.

"You go through the campaigns and study the history books and talk to the experts. Sooner or later there is going to be a big surprise. Usually a very unpleasant one," he told hundreds gathered under a white tent on a driving range of an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course.

Cheney added, "And thats when you really find out what kind of leader your president is and I'm convinced that in addition to all of these other qualifications that you all know about, when I think about the kind of individual I want in the Oval Office in that moment of crisis, who has to make those key decisions, some of them life and death decisions, some of them decisions as the commander in chief who has the responsibility of sending our young men and women into harm's way - that man is Mitt Romney."

Romney praised Cheney for his decades of service in Washington at the reception, which was open to a handful of reporters. No cameras were allowed at the event.

"How many years he could have spent here fly fishing and hunting and just enjoying the beauty," Romney said. "Instead he went back to Washington and served year after year after year - and not always in ways that achieved a lot of visibility and at times when he achieved visibility, sometimes not the visibility he wanted. But in each case put his country foremost in his life, and to do that and to bring up a family in that setting is something which I respect and admire and this is a great American leader and I appreciate the fact that Wyoming was willing to give him to the United States of America.”

Easy there.. He's got a new heart but not a new soul. Who were those guys who left us 700,000 jobs out the door a month. Oh wait...

July 13, 2012 09:43 am at 9:43 am |

Yuliya

"...the commander in chief who has the responsibility of sending our young men and women into harm's way – that man is Mitt Romney."

Sure thing, not his children, right? Which counrty would he like to invade this time?

July 13, 2012 09:45 am at 9:45 am |

Richard in Houston

Wishing former VP Cheney all the best and a speedy recovery.

July 13, 2012 10:02 am at 10:02 am |

Richard in Houston

Why no cameras?

July 13, 2012 10:02 am at 10:02 am |

Delilah

Cheney is a war criminal – he just happened to get away with it. Willard would be wise to distance himself from anyone connected to Bush.

July 13, 2012 10:12 am at 10:12 am |

Tony in Maine

Dr. No

July 13, 2012 10:15 am at 10:15 am |

Ronda in Houston,TX

Williard, raise all the money you want. You will never become president of the united states. No more liars.

July 13, 2012 10:17 am at 10:17 am |

warren

CHeney and rommey. The comedy tour continues!

July 13, 2012 10:17 am at 10:17 am |

mikle

Go, Romney, Go.

July 13, 2012 10:24 am at 10:24 am |

dreamer96

Dick Cheney should be banned from mentioning the 9/11/2001 attack....as the former US Defense Secretary, and considering his long history in our government, Dick Cheney probably held a high security clearance the President G.W.Bush, our Presidents do not usually hold the highest security clearance..(FDR was taken out of the top loop of secret information, and only added back, just days before the Pearl Harbor attack)...

Dick Cheney was most likely aware of those 12 different warnings about an attack like 9/11/2001...Those warnings that came from 12 different sources of groups and individuals inside our DOD and National Intelligence Networks...The same warnings that were used to create the drills that NORAD had ...

The US government had the warnings, had drills made up based on those warnings, but never warned our airports, airlines, or our other law enforcement agencies...That came out in the Congressional investigation into 911..What went wrong on the morning of 911...what warnings were never passed on to prevent that attack..and why NORAD, and our National Intelligence Networks, failed to stop those highjacked passenger jets...

Who helped to drive John P. O'Neill our of the FBI..was Dick Cheney involved at all?...

If flight 93 had not been delayed in taking off..that fourth plane would have crashed into the Congress, at about the same time as the first two hit the Twin Towers, and the third hit the Pentagon...That would have only left the President, and the Supreme Court in control of our country....